GlenAllachie
Delicate, fruity Speysider recently relaunched as a single malt whisky.
Aberlour Distillery
Distillery & brand
A medium-weight single malt, Aberlour’s character balances malt, fruit and a distinctive blackcurrant note. It is a whisky which gains in weight and toffee-like sweetness as it matures and has sufficient depth to be able to cope with Sherry cask maturation.
Aberlour Distillery
Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
The range is large, with many different variations on ex-Sherry and ex-Bourbon cask matured whiskies – some mixed, some 100%, others finished. Its greatest cult following is for the small batch, 100% Sherry-matured, cask-strength variant A’Bunadh which has run since 2000. Aberlour was also one of the first distilleries to offer a ‘bottle your own’ whisky to visitors.
Aberlour History
The first distillery in the village of Aberlour was established in 1825 and ran until 1833, when the co-lessees James and John Grant left to build their own distillery, Glen Grant, in Rothes. The current distillery was the brainchild of James Fleming who built it in 1879 using water from St. Drostan’s Well, named after an early Columban monk, which is situated on the site.
Like many Victorian distilleries, it burnt down and, in 1898, had to be rebuilt. During World War II when the distillery was on short-term working, locals used to smuggle wash up the Aberlour burn and distil illicitly under the Linn Falls.
The distillery became part of Campbell Distillers in 1945, passing into the Pernod Ricard stable in 1974, the year after it had been expanded from two to four stills and wholly modernised internally. Its ownership has long given it a strong following in France. It is now part of Pernod’s whisky division, Chivas Brothers.
Timeline
- 1826 James Gordon and Peter Weir establish the first Aberlour distillery, only for Weir to withdraw from the project just one year later.
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- 1879 Fire breaks out at the distillery, destroying the majority of the site. Fleming vows to rebuild Aberlour further up the Spey River.
- 1892 Aberlour is sold to Robert Thorne & Sons, but the distillery suffers another serious fire just six years later and has to be rebuilt once again.
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- 1921 The distillery is sold once more to brewery W.H. Holt & Sons, and remains under its stewardship for 24 years. In 1945 Aberlour is acquired by S.Campbell & Sons.
- 1973 Capacity at Aberlour is increased from two stills to four to cope with demand for the Dewar’s label.
- 1974 French drinks group Pernod Ricard acquires Aberlour along with Campbell Distilleries.
- 2000 Pernod Ricard launches Aberlour A’Bunadh, a cask-strength single malt matured solely in Sherry casks.
- 2001 Pernod Ricard acquires Chivas Brothers and merges its portfolio with that of Campbell Distilleries. Twelve months later, Aberlour unveils its new, modern visitors’ centre.
Aberlour Facts
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- Capacity (mlpa) i
- 3.9
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- Condenser Type i
- Shell and tube
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- Fermentation Time i
- 48hrs
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- Grist Weight (t) i
- 12
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- Heat Source i
- Internal steam pans
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- Malt Specification i
- Unpeated
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- Malt Supplier i
- Barley varieties varied, Optic, Oxbridge, Braemar, Propino and Concerto
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- Mash Tun Material i
- Stainless Steel
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- Mash Tun Type i
- Semi Lauter
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- New-make Strength i
- 67-70%
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- Spirit Still Charge (l) i
- 14,500
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- Spirit Still Shape i
- Traditional coal fired pot onto an Ogee and head
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- Stills i
- 2 pairs
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- Warehousing i
- Racked storage
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- Wash Still Charge (l) i
- 12,300
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- Wash Still Shape i
- Traditional coal fired pot onto an Ogee and head
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- Washback Type i
- Stainless steel
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- Washbacks i
- 6
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- Water Source i
- Birkenbush, Target spring
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- Wort Clarity i
- Moderately clear
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- Yeast Type i
- Mauri Cream
Owners
Parent company
- Pernod Ricard 1974 - present
Current owner
- Chivas Brothers Holdings 2001 - present
Previous owners
- Campbell Distillers 1945 - 1974
- WH Holt & Sons 1921 - 1945
- R Thorne and Sons 1892 - 1921
- James Flemming 1879 - 1892
Contact
- Address
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Aberlour Distillery
Aberlour
Moray
AB38 9PJ
United Kingdom - Phone
- +44 1340 881249
- Visitor Opening Hours
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- Monday
- 9.30am to 4pm (mid-Nov to mid-Mar), to 5pm (mid-Mar to mid-Nov)
- Tuesday
- 9.30am to 4pm (mid-Nov to mid-Mar), to 5pm (mid-Mar to mid-Nov)
- Wednesday
- 9.30am to 4pm (mid-Nov to mid-Mar), to 5pm (mid-Mar to mid-Nov)
- Thursday
- 9.30am to 4pm (mid-Nov to mid-Mar), to 5pm (mid-Mar to mid-Nov)
- Friday
- 9.30am to 4pm (mid-Nov to mid-Mar), to 5pm (mid-Mar to mid-Nov)
- Saturday
- 9.30am to 5pm (mid-Mar to mid-Nov)
- Sunday
- 9.30am to 5pm (mid-Mar to mid-Nov)
Map
See also
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Distillery & brand